From the grave
by netheroke
Summary: The war on chorus has been going strong between the planets inhabitants and the UNSC but when Carolina and Wash encounter an enemy from the days at Project freelancer it brings back a lot of bad memories. (This is set after season 12 and it adds 2 new characters into the red vs blue universe. Don't bitch about the characters.)
1. Prologue

Prologue

The hall was dark. Things were very quiet due to the fact that the hallway was practically deserted expect for two soldiers moving slowly into the darker end of the hall. "Dammit I hate patrol!" One of the soldiers shouted flailing his rifle towards the ceiling.

"Dude shut the fuck up!" The other soldier shouted.

"Jesus what is up your ass James." The first soldier grumbled in anger.

"Are you kidding?" James replied. "I don't wanna listen to your stupid ass complain. Plus if Felix Or Locus hear you complaining they will be pissed and you don't want them telling "him" about it claiming insubordination." James stated. "Trust me John. He is the last guy you want to deal with." John got a look of fear and grimace on his face.

"I heard that guy is a grade A psychopath. Why the hell would they hire him?" John questioned.

"It wasn't Felix or Locus that hired him. It was the big man himself." John looked at James with confusion.

"That raises even more questions."  
John looked around in a slight panic. Suddenly both the soldiers heard a click on the ceiling. "W-Who's there!" John shouted.

"Your worst nightmare." A female voice laughed. Suddenly a figure in black armor jumped down between the soldiers. The soldiers both tried to get their rifles up but she managed to trip them both knocking them to the ground. She grabbed one of the soldiers guns and shot it into James. James grabbed his side where the bullet had landed and proceeded to gasp for air.

John got up and got ready to charge the woman when she took the gun and whipped him in the head with the butt of the gun knocking him unconscious. James reached up towards to the woman trying to reach for the gun but she fired one last shot in the middle of his visor killing him instantly.

"Dammit!" A voice shouted from the ceiling. Another figure in gray armor jumped down onto the floor. "We were so close Carolina." The figure shouted.

"Well we did discover one thing Wash." Carolina responded. Wash looked at Carolina slightly confused.

"And that would be?" Wash questioned skeptically.

"Felix and Locus have someone else on their side. We will have to figure out who at a later time. We need to go to the vehicle hangar to let the reds and blues in. The raid is still on." Carolina looked down the hall. "We need to go this way!" She pointed down the hall and began to run as fast as she could. Wash moved quickly to try to keep up.

When they made their way to the hangar Carolina stood in front of a large door. "Let's get this thing open." She placed her hands right in the split between the two doors and pushed them open. Right in front of the door was the reds and blues. Tucker, Caboose, Simmons, Grif, Sarge, And Donut.

"I don't know why we had to fucking wait outside." Grif complained.

"Due to the fact that you are to loud to be sneaky we couldn't risk you alerting people." Wash answered. Grif looked at Wash and sighed.

"Well let's burn this fucker down!" Sarge shouted. As Sarge began to walk forwards a group of 5 soldiers started running towards the group. Carolina ran towards the soldiers and punched one of them into the floor hard enough to knock his helmet off, Tucker slashed one of them with his sword, Wash shot one in the visor with his rifle, Sarge shot one of them in the face with his shotgun, Simmons shot one of them in the foot making him fall down, And Donut threw a grenade at the final one making him go flying into the back wall killing him instantly.

Carolina walked over to the one who was shot in the ankle. "Who all is here!" She shouted. The soldier looked at her and sighed deeply.

"What the hell are you talking about? The soldier questioned.

"Who is this supposed psychopath?" Carolina shouted.

"I... I don't know what the hell you are talking about." The soldier stated.

"Who is working with Locus and Felix!" Wash yelled. The soldier gasped and looked all around the room.

"I... I can't tell you that. If he knew I was even talking to you he would..." Before the soldier could finish his sentence a shot rang out and a bullet flew into the back of his helmet and out the front of his visor splattering his brain onto the metal floor. Carolina and Wash jumped back and proceeded to panic.

"Sniper!" Wash yelled. "Everyone get down!" Wash waved his hand towards the floor and sprawled. Everyone jumped down to the floor when a thud sounded. Metal footsteps proceeded towards the group. When Carolina looked up to try to see who they were dealing with she gasped.

She slowly rose to her feet and stared blankly. "Y...You... You can't be..." Carolina began to stutter. Wash and the others got up and looked at Carolina. Wash turned to see the mysterious individual and then he froze.  
"You can't be..." Wash whispered. The individual proceeded to step forward slowly. His body armor was jet black with red slashes across it. His visor was blood red and he was holding a sniper rifle in his right hand pointing it towards the ceiling.

"It has been a long time... Washington." The man said in a deep raspy voice. He turned towards Carolina. "And even longer for you... Carolina" The man said as he reached towards her.

"Guys..." Carolina whispered. The reds and blues got ready to fight. "...Run!" Carolina shouted as she whipped around and got ready to run. The man wrapped his arm around Carolinas neck and threw her back onto the ground.

"Oh no... You don't understand how this is going to work." The man pulled her to her feet and grabbed her neck and lifted her up. "You aren't escaping me this time." The man shouted. "Derek isn't here to save you now!" He yelled. Washington whipped his head up and stared at Carolina. Carolina clenched her fist and punched the man in the side of the head making him drop her.

"How dare you..." She grumbled under her breath. "How dare you speak of him!" She yelled as she ran towards him with her fist raised. She throws a punch at the man but he grabs it and bends her wrist to the side. He pulls her close and then headbutts her into the floor. She falls down and grunts.

"I am stronger than you and you know it." The man laughs. Everyone stares at the man and then at Carolina. The reds and blues start to run for the exit.

"You guys go! I will grab Carolina!" Washington yells. He runs towards Carolina and the man begins to laugh.

"Don't worry Washy boy. I have no interest in killing you... Yet." The man laughed.

"Why is that?" Washington questioned.

"My employer would not be to happy about that. If my employer is unhappy I don't get a paycheck." The man laughs as he jumps up and swings from the rafters and makes his way out of the hangar. Washington sighs heavily as he grabs Carolina and throws her over his shoulder. He runs out of the hangar and proceeds towards the reds and blues.

"Wash!" Tucker shouted as Wash ran towards the rendezvous point.

"Who the hell was that guy?" Simmons questioned.

"And why did it seem like you guys knew him?" Sarge asked.

"And who is Derek?" Grif questioned. Washington sighed heavily as he set down Carolina.

"That man that we saw is named Zealot and he is a man that we were set to take down back during our project freelancer days. He was a terrorist that was wanted for the torture and murder of thousands of people..." Everyone looked at Washington. "He was the one that we were never able to take down..." Washington sighed again.

"Well that is scary as fuck and all that but who the hell is Derek and why did his name make Carolina so pissed." Grif asked again. Washington took a deep breath and looked towards the floor.

"Derek was project freelancers greatest victory... and its greatest loss..." Washington paused. "He is the one no one ever talks about... He is the most painful memory that everyone chooses to ignore..." Washington whispers.

"Who is he goddammit!" Grif yells.

"Agent Nebraska!" Washington shouted.


	2. Chapter 1: Not so fresh meat

Chapter 1: Not so fresh meat (Flashback)

The halls of the mother of invention were dead silent. Carolina was making her way towards the training room to put in some more time. She had been training non stop because she was still trying to get up towards Tex. No matter how much Carolina wanted to deny it she knew Tex was better than her.

When Carolina came up to the observation room she saw a crowd starting to form. "What the hell is everyone grouping for?" Carolina growled. A few of the people backed up slightly but one of them stayed.

"Oh Carolina." York laughed nervously. "We got another new recruit. He is about to have his first sparring match." York pointed towards the training field where a man in black and white body armor was standing. He was doing some shadow boxing to warm his body up which everyone found a little odd but they didn't really say anything.

"Who is he?" California growled.

"Nebraska." North answered. Carolina turned and looked at North confused.

"Agent Nebraska?" Carolina questioned. That was not a name she expected to ever here. "Why Nebraska?" Carolina questioned.

"It's because he is from Nebraska." The Director said as he walked onto the observation deck.

"Oh..." Carolina fell silent. She watched the training room floor waiting for someone else to walk out. "Who is he going to face?" Carolina questioned. She looked back at the Director. The Director pointed towards the training room floor and gave a slight grin. Carolina gasped when she saw Tex walking onto the training room floor.

"He is going to face Texas?" York questioned. "Are you trying to get him killed?" York laughed nervously.

"Hey just cause she kicked your ass doesn't mean she is going to kick Nebraskas" South chuckled. York sighed and gave South a frustrated look.

"South let's be honest. Tex is probably going to wipe the floor with this rookie." North laughed.

"Why would you put the new guy up against her?" Carolina questioned. The Director laughed at Carolina.

"Well..." The Director sighed. "Nebraska asked to face the best we have." Everyone quickly turned to the Director.

"B-But..." Carolina went into a slight whisper.

"Hey the match is about to start." York shouted pointing down to the training room floor. Everyone turned and watched as the match was beginning.

"Pugil sticks training begin." F.I.L.S.S said through the intercom. Nebraska picked up his stick from the table and began to walk towards the center from the training room floor. Tex ran for Nebraska and jumped in the air ready to smash her stick into his forehead. Nebraska jumped to the side dodging her attack but slipped and fell.

"Man that guy is just sloppy." South laughed.

"He made one mistake. Don't be so quick to judge people South." York laughed.

Nebraska got back up to his feet and took a deep breath. He turned to see Tex running towards him. Nebraska turned away from her and then looked at the floor. He squatted down and then flipped back. He jumped over her and then landed with one leg in front and one behind. He pressed off his leg in front and ran for Tex swinging for her with his Pugil stick but she moved out of the way before he could hit her.

"That was pretty slick." York laughed looking at South.

"He still missed though." South Scoffed. Nebraska moved towards her quickly but she whipped him in the side of the head knocking him down.

"Round 1 complete. Winner Texas. Setting floor for lock down paint scenario." F.I.L.S.S announced.

"Good luck Nebraska." York chuckled. Tex had already beaten York down pretty bad with paint and that was with two other people on his team.

"Director are you really gonna let this happen?" California questioned.

"This is my decision Carolina. You will do right not to question my judgment." The director shouted. Carolina stopped for a second and then sighed heavily.

"Yes sir." Carolina whispered. She looked back down to the floor to see Nebraska grabbing his paint gun.

"Round 2 Begin." F.I.L.S.S announced. Nebraska ran behind one of the posts and waited. He looked around the corners and slowly made his way over to Texs end of the training room. Tex jumped on top of pillars and got ready to take down Nebraska.

"Time to take this rookie down." Tex whispered under her breath. Nebraska began to run towards Texs end of the training room but Tex was behind him and jumped and got ready to shoot. Nebraska looked at the ground and then whipped around throwing his gun towards Tex as she fired. The shot of paint hit Nebraskas gun and exploded. Nebraska moved to the side as the paint covered gun fell down. He ran at Tex and rammed her in the stomach with his forearm before she landed back on the ground making her drop her gun.

"Whoa!" North shouted.

"How the hell did he do that?" South questioned.

"I told you not to count him out!" York laughed. Carolina looked at the others and just sighed. She walked towards the exit. "Carolina where are you going?" York questioned.

"I will be back don't worry. I am just going for a walk." Carolina responded. York sighed and then looked back down to the training floor. Nebraska walked over to Texs gun and picked it up. He walked over to Tex and pointed it at her head and pulled the trigger. The paint exploded all over her helmet.

"Round 2 over. Winner Nebraska" The intercom projected.

"End the training program." The Director ordered with a slight smile on his face.

"Training complete." F.I.L.S.S shouted.

"W-What?" South questioned. "Why so soon?"

"Because I have learned what I wanted to." The Director walked out of the observation room. Tex grunted as she got the paint off of her helmet. She got up slowly and began to walk towards Nebraska.

"That was impressive rookie." Tex sighed. She held out her hand for a handshake. Nebraska shook her hand firmly and slowly made his way for the exit. "Hey Nebraska!" Tex shouted. Nebraska turned around and looked at Tex. "How did you do that? How did you know where I was?" Tex questioned. Nebraska let out a deep chuckle.

"You really wanna know?" Nebraska asked with a deep masculine voice. Tex nodded confused. "I could see your shadow in the floor. All I had to do was guess where your gun was and what the trajectory of your bullet was. That I could guess from the sound you made when you jumped. All I had to do was spin around and throw my gun at the origin of the noise and physics took care of the rest" Nebraska explained. He walked towards the exit while Tex stood still astonished at what she had just heard.


	3. Chapter 2: What to do next

Chapter 2: What to do next (current)

"So you are telling us that there was an agent Nebraska." Simmons questioned.

"Yes." Wash sighed. Carolina let out a grunt as she regained consciousness. "Hey there Carolina." Washington placed his hand on her shoulder as she got up.

"Get off me." Carolina growled as she nudged Wash away.

"Hey easy!" Wash shouted.

"You got beat up pretty bad Carolina." Tucker said as he tried to get her to relax.

"Where is Zealot?" Carolina shouted.

"I don't know." Wash whispered.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Carolina yelled.

"We ran. After you were taken out we just ran for it." Tucker answered.

"He let you leave?" Carolina questioned.

"He said he didn't want to kill us. He said his employer would get mad." Simmons replied.

"Why the hell would his employer be upset by our death?" Carolina growled in anger.

"Maybe he wants to capture us alive." Wash said under his breath.

"Or maybe he wants to take you out himself." Church said as he appeared floating next to Carolinas head.

"Where the hell have you been?" Carolina yelled.

"Hey I was busy trying to focus on the data we collected from the last base raid we did." Church shouted back at Carolina.

"Well I could have used your help!" Carolina replied.

"Look how would I have known Zealot was going to show up?" Church sighed. "I'm sorry." Church looked over to Wash. "Well what do we do now?" Church asked Wash. Wash looked at the ground and took a deep breath.

"We let Kimball know about Zealot and we keep on with the raids as usual." Wash answered.

"What the fuck? Are you serious Wash? You want to do more raids with that Fucker running around. He took down Carolina with one hit what the hell makes you think we can take him?" Tucker yelled.

"If we let Zealots presence stop us from progressing then we will never get anything done. We have to just avoid him for the time being." Wash answered. Tucker sighed and walked away slowly. "Now let's hurry back to the capital. They will want us to report in as soon as possible." Wash sighed as he began to leave with Tucker. The others had followed not to far behind.


	4. Chapter 3: First day on the job

Chapter 3: First day on the job (Flashback)

Carolina walked down the hall towards the debriefing room. The director had called a meeting of all available project freelancer agents. When Carolina opened the door to the debriefing room she saw Wash, York, Nebraska, and Tex standing around the center table. "Agent Carolina glad you could finally join us." The Director exclaimed. Carolina let out a heavy sigh and then moved to the table with everyone else.

"You okay?" Nebraska whispered as he gently nudged her with his arm. Carolina brushed his arm away.

"Don't worry about me rookie." Carolina responded. Nebraska turned back towards the Director and sighed.

"The reason I have called you all here today is because it has been brought to our attention that a group of thugs have some data that if put in the wrong hands could lead to some serious complications." The Director. Everyone looked at each other confused.

"What kind of data?" Nebraska asked. The Director glared at Nebraska.

"That is classified information. All you five are in charge of is getting it back."

"Well Nebraska does have a point what are we even looking for?" York questioned. The Director sighed heavily.

"What you are looking for is a data file under the name Operation FLOOD." The Director answered as the others began to look at each other with slight confusion. "That is all the more information about it I will give you. You are to find their main data base and transfer the data from the data base to our system."

"Why not just delete it?" Nebraska questioned. Everyone stared at Nebraska. Most the time people never talked back to the Director.

"That data is important military research. Our goal is to protect it from falling into the wrong hands not to destroy it." The Director replied. Nebraska sighed and nodded his head. "Now you need to leave as soon as possible. Go to the ship hangar and get going!" The director shouted.

"Yes sir!" Everyone shouted as they ran out of the debriefing. They made their way down to the hangar and all got ready to board the ship.

"Are you ready to go?" Carolina asked.

"Ready to go." 479er responded.

"Alright everyone get on board." Carolina pointed up the ramp to the ship seats. Everyone ran up the ramp and sat down pulling down the harness. Everyone seemed very relaxed about this whole mission.

"So any idea where we are headed off to?" Nebraska questioned.

"We are going to a small military base in a deserted land. The base has been abandoned for years but a group of thugs have taken refuge in it." York answered. The ship flight was relatively quiet from that point on. Nobody was really worried about talking to each other.

"Alright we are almost ready to drop so get ready to go back there!" 479er yelled. Everyone grabbed their guns and got ready to jump. The back hatch opened and everyone formed into a line. "Okay jump now!" 479er yelled. Everyone ran for the exit and jumped. The fall was relatively short and painless. When everyone landed they went with a tuck and roll and got to their feet.

They looked around to secure the area but no one was in sight. "You think we are catching them at an off moment?" Wash questioned.

"Possibly but keep your guard up anyway." Carolina ordered. Everyone nodded and made their way into the compound. "They must have known we were coming. It seems like absolutely no one is here." Carolina looked around confused. There should have been at least a small amount of resistance. They made their way through the halls and everything seemed to be going just as planned.

When they got towards the end of the hall there was a large door. "Beyond here according to the schematics should be the main server room. We can get what we are looking for from here." York stated.

"Will you be able to get into the system?" Carolina questioned.

"Of course" York chuckled. As the gate opened they all ran inside to find one computer terminal in the room. It stood up to the ceiling and had nothing around it. "This shouldn't take to long." York shouted. He placed the data storage unit into a slot on the terminal and started to type things in. "That's weird." York said confused.

"What's weird?" Nebraska questioned.

"This has no security set up or anything. The file is here but there is nothing protecting it." York replied.

"Wait..." Nebraska paused.

"Initiating upload now." York laughed as he pressed the button to upload. Suddenly the computer screen went black. "Whoa what happened?" York questioned. The screen then just said "Nice try" A loud screech sounded as three doors opened with squads of 20 soldiers each running after the group.

"Shit! It was a trap!" Nebraska yelled. He turned and got ready to run but he was shot with an electric pulse making it so he can't move. "Guys run!" Nebraska yelled as he passed out. Before any of the others could run they were shot down with the same pulse knocking them unconscious.


	5. Chapter 4: Report at the capital

Chapter 4: Report at the Capital (Current)

Wash, Carolina, And the others all walked into the debriefing room. Kimball was standing in the center of the room staring at the computer monitor in front of her. "Anything to report?" Kimball questioned. Tucker sighed heavily. Wash stared at him and sighed as well.

"It turns out that we have a bigger threat coming for us then we thought." Wash answered. Kimball turned and looked at Wash concerned.

"What kind of threat are we talking about?" Kimball questioned.

"An old enemy of Project Freelancer known as Zealot." Carolina answered walking over to Kimball. Kimball looked at Carolina slightly confused.

"What do you mean?" Kimball questioned. She was completely lost as to what was going on.

"He was originally the leader of a small terrorist organization that was determined to destroy anyone who was getting their way." Wash replied. "Now it seems that the Chairman has recruited him to give Felix and Locus a helping hand." Wash looked down towards the ground.

"Well what do you suppose we do?" Kimball looked back towards the monitor. "We don't know what this man even looks like." Kimball sighed.

"Have you had any luck getting into the UNSC database?" Carolina questioned.

"We have unlocked most of their records why?" Kimball questioned. Carolina walked over to the terminal and started to type on it. Suddenly a picture of a man popped up on the screen. He had a long scar coming down his face and his eyes looked glossed over.

"Who is that?" Tucker asked.

"That is what Zealot looks like without the helmet." Carolina answered.

"If you were able to find that so easily why didn't you just search to see if he was working with them before?" Grif questioned.

"The Chairman wouldn't put that kind of partnership in the database. If anyone knew he was hiring a terrorist he would be ruined." Carolina replied.

"Well now that we know what he looks like what do we do?" Kimball questioned.

"Round up the troops and alert them of the threat." Wash answered.

"There is a slight problem with that." One of the soldiers said from just outside the doorway.

"What are you talking about soldier?" Kimball questioned.

"We just sent a troop out to go investigate a base that we believe is a hideout for the space pirates. Security seemed low so we thought now would be the best time to attack." The soldier responded. Carolina and Wash both stared at eachother.

"Call them back now!" Carolina yelled. Everyone but Wash were startled.

"W-What why?" The soldier questioned.

"We had that same kind of thing happen to us. It is a trap. The place is swarming with soldiers. Call them back now!" Carolina yelled.

"We have a problem!" Another soldier yelled as he ran into the room.

"Goddammit what now?" Kimball yelled.

"We lost contact with the deployed squad." The soldier shouted.

"Fuck why does everything have to happen right now?" Wash sighed. "Get your squad together!" Wash yelled to the reds and blues. Tucker looked up.

"Why?" Tucker questioned.

"Because we are leaving." Wash answered.

"I am coming with you!" Carolina yelled.

"No you are not! He roughed you up pretty bad and you are in no condition to fight!" Wash yelled.

"What is going on?" Grif questioned.

"We are going to rescue that squad before they are all killed!" Wash shouted.

"Why do we have to go?" Donut questioned.

"Because odds are Zealot is there. No other soldiers know what he is like... But I do." Wash sighed.


End file.
